Could This Swedish Bridge Become the Hippest Pedestrian Crossing in Stockholm?

The Traneberg Bridge in Stockholm once possessed the world’s largest concrete bridge vaults. That was in 1934 following it’s completion based on a design from Swedish Modernist Paul Hedqvist. With its size record long surpassed, Swedish firm Visiondivision are calling for alterations to the structure that would garner another wave of notoriety for the bridge some 80 years later.

The bridge as it appears today (Courtesy visiondivision)

Spanning the Tranebergssund River, the bridge connects a central island of Stockholm city, Kungsholmen, to an outer suburb. Since the 30s the bridge has grown in size to accommodate increased vehicular traffic. The expansions, however, have served to alienate pedestrians using the crossing.

Seeking a creative alternative to walking beside a busy highway, Visiondivision is proposing the space beneath the bridge be used as passage for those traversing the river on foot. Such a re-purposing would require minor changes to the extant structure with stairs, fencing, and proper lighting rendering the underbelly usable. The pillars of the Traneberg come ready-made with a hole that would allow for uninterrupted passage along the vault.

(Courtesy visiondivision)

In the eyes of Visiondivision, the site’s potential goes beyond simply creating a more pleasant pedestrian circulation. Renderings show red concrete stairs doubling as seating for films or art to be projected or displayed on the surfaces of the bridge’s pillars, though noise and pollution from the road above could have an impact on such activities.

The new foot-traffic could also justify the presence of small commercial kiosks, the designers added, to be located on the flat portions of the underside abutting both ends of the vault. How the project will account for the trolls known to frequent bridges in the area remains unclear.